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kpi_strength

Identify potential, Build self-belief, Enhance your performance. We specialize in training baseball and softball players. 🦍 💨!

Keeping the posting going on results of the Winter

Keeping the posting going on results of the Winter Development Program!
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A huge key performance indicator is size!
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Most youth players, 12-15 years old, performances are heavily influenced by their size.
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The bigger kids hit the ball the hardest, throw the fastest, and get the most opportunities.
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Once we get past 10th grade this starts to even out but we know that the athletes with the most muscle mass have higher potential success on the field.
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The sweet spot is 180-210 pounds for our high school athletes, obviously accounting for proper body composition.
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Our WDP athletes gained on average 3.8 pounds, with the biggest gains averaging 10+ lbs of mass!
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#kpicrew #baseball #bombsquad #punchoutposse

Quick tip on proper form, specifically for our fem

Quick tip on proper form, specifically for our female athletes.
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We want to keep a neutral spine during a majority of lifts. Athletes who have a lot of spine mobility, which is good, might over arch their back to get stability during the lift.
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Dynamic vs static stability
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When you over arch, you are relying on static stability to protect the spine. BAD!
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By keeping a neutral spine, the muscles of the core, protect the spine. GOOD!
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Check out @lykacharms08 crushing the demo!!!
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#kpicrew

We have had the unfortunate task of helping severa

We have had the unfortunate task of helping several players return to throwing due to varying degrees of injury.
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Baseball/softball players have about a 50/50 chance of injuring their arm. One of the biggest obstacles to overcome is the mind.
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Most times players have thrown thru some discomfort or soreness for a while so they start to associate throwing with that feeling.
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It will change the way you throw! (Video 1).
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The body doesn’t want to feel soreness or pain so it will find a way around it. Short, pushy, throws, that resemble a dart throw vs. an actual throw.
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Here is one way to breakdown this association.
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Change everything in the environment but the act of throwing.
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Throw into a wall vs. a partner
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Throw a bright red ball vs. a baseball
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These are two of the ways we typically change things. Give them some proper drills and coaching and you get video 2.
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#kpicrew

Looking to prepare your arm for the season? - Here

Looking to prepare your arm for the season?
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Here is a great example of how @kineticperformanceinstitute blends the worlds of player development.
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We apply weight room techniques to the skill side of development.
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In the weight room we use reps, sets, and weight to determine the intensity and volume a player experiences. Intensity and volume are inversely related, meaning when volume goes up, intensity should go down and vice versa. We do this to first keep players safe. Think of a workout you do right after a long break and you try and do what you used to do. You are super sore and it takes forever to get back to normal. -
We do the same thing with our throwing programs. Volume is simple, the number of throws. But intensity is much harder if you don’t have a way to measure it. We use a radar gun to get feedback on your intensity level.
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This does two things!
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Ensures we don’t expose the body to too much stress to quick, too fast!
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And allows us to gradually expose it to higher intensity levels that you are going to see in games.
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Check out the easiest 70 mph throw we have seen by @mckennacampbell2023 and @landonxstump sitting at 89 mph. 🧀
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#kpicrew

Love these two exercises! - Lots of kids ask, what

Love these two exercises!
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Lots of kids ask, what’s the difference between them.
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The 1-leg deadlift focuses on concentric strength, pulling from the ground, and teaches athletes how to take tension out of the body.
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This can help with acceleration.
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The 1-leg RDL focuses on eccentric strength, control of single hip stability, and accepting force at the hip.
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This can help with change of direction and top end speed.
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For our baseball and softball players generating force with one leg, transferring it to the other, accepting that force and redirecting it is pretty important.
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#kpicrew

Feet-elevated Push Up w/Chains - Our resident gymn

Feet-elevated Push Up w/Chains
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Our resident gymnast @saratran.2023 crushing some push ups! Arguably lb for lb one of strongest athletes in the gym!!
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Why chains?
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The chains provide variable resistance. As she lowers to the bottom of the push up, the chains lower onto the ground and there is less weight on her back.
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The top of a push up is the strongest position, body weight alone won’t provide much stimulus to the body. When the chains are added, the top is challenged more, more chains off the ground. As she lowers, the bottom of the push up is the weakest point in the movement, less chains, less challenging.
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Variable resistance is a good way to challenge the entire movement, not just the weakest point.
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#kpicrew

Continue to raise the bar! - #punintended #kpicrew

Continue to raise the bar!
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#punintended #kpicrew

Why should youth athletes train? - When should the

Why should youth athletes train?
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When should they train?
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Is it safe?
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Youth athletes should train for multiple reasons!!!
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Training focuses on developing specific characteristics and changes that will benefit the athlete in the long run and help them achieve their goals.
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Where as many youth athletes merely exercise. Conditioning, punishment running, burpees, crunches etc. Just make them tired and don’t get them closer to their goals!
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Training is purposeful, designed, and planned to account for everything the athlete is experiencing on and off the field to keep them safe and reduce the chances of getting injured.
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They should start once they have the mental capacity, maturity, and focus to do so. A training program should be individualized to the athletes chronological age and developmental age.
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Throwing, swinging, pitching, sprinting etc. all have higher injury rates that training in a gym, especially when ran by a professional. Individualization is a great way to keep athletes safe and on the field developing.
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At a young age, the healthier you are, the more opportunity you have to work on actually getting better!
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#kpicrew

Single leg strength is extremely important for sof

Single leg strength is extremely important for softball players!
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Check out @allyforbell crushing 135 for reps on a 1-leg Elevated Barbell Deadlift.
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This is a strength goal for every athlete at KPI. Remember strength is a tool, not the goal!
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Athletes who are looking to improve mechanics, whether it’s swinging or throwing, should start with strength. As you start checking the strength boxes, it will be easier to change the “poor mechanics.”
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The best part is as you develop strength, you increase movement capacity, which will directly influence “mechanics.” The earlier you start this and concurrently work on developing your skill, the better opportunity you will have at reaching your full potential!
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#kpicrew

Before we talk about the differences in the moveme

Speed development! - Everyone wants to get faster,

Speed development!
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Everyone wants to get faster, especially the softball population. Why? Speed is a huge recruitable skill.
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@anastacia.delatorre shaved 3 tenths of a second off her 10 yard dash. That’s a huge jump!
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How do you think she did it?
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Speed drills, agility drills, up hill sprints, sleds, etc.?
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She did some of that but a majority of her program focused on strength development. Some athletes need to be able to put more force into the ground to get faster, build a bigger engine. That was the individualized focus for her! (She also hasn’t missed a workout for a year straight...)
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#kpicrew

Looking for a one stop shop for getting better thi

Looking for a one stop shop for getting better this spring?
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Check out our Youth Development Program.
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Skill, strength, arm care, etc. All in one session to maximize efficiency and allows athletes to get to know @kineticperformanceinstitute’s training systems so they can hit the ground running in our HS programs!
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#kpicrew

In-season training tip! - We want to keep/maintain

In-season training tip!
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We want to keep/maintain the gains we made this off season, since it was one of the longest “off seasons” to date.
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But we don’t want to double up on the stress that we are going to feel from the addition of games.
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Just saw @jacquimcleann’s HS schedule and she will have 2-4 games and 3-5 practices a week. This is going to be a lot of stress, especially for her lower back.
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The lower back is an area most softball/baseball coaches don’t worry about but the rotational aspect of throwing and hitting puts a lot of torque there.
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How can we minimize doubling up the stress in the weight room?
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First, prioritize proper form and have a coach make sure you are doing it right. That can be in-person or via video. We use TRAQ to allow athletes to send videos to us, typically skill, but strength videos can be sent too!
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Secondly, adjust the exercises! Notice how these are elevated deadlifts. This is a common exercises change that allows us to get the benefits of deadlifts but reduce some of the stress to the lower back.
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We employ this with many of the athletes who are new to training and as we increase the amount of swinging and throwing outside of their normal training routine!
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#kpicrew

Need I say more? - #kpicrew

Need I say more?
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#kpicrew

Arm care exercises - If done correctly, they are y

Arm care exercises
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If done correctly, they are your best friend!
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If done poorly, they are your worst enemy...
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Check out this Prone T-Y variation, using a weighted ball as feedback for proper shoulder blade movement.
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Rep number one is your worst enemy. His shoulder blade pushes the ball down and forward. Signs of the shoulder blade shrugging up and rolling forward.
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This is grooving a movement that relies on the upper trap and the pec muscles to stabilize the shoulder. A very poor strategy and could lead to soreness in the front of the shoulder, bicep soreness, and elbow soreness.
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The second rep is your best friend. Notice how he clears space between his shoulder and the ball. Maintains that space as he rotates his arm up to his Y position.
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This promotes use of the lower trap and serratus anterior. Muscles that help stabilize the shoulder as the arm rotates up.
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#kpicrew

Have had a lot of success with teaching players to

Have had a lot of success with teaching players to use their back leg more efficiently.
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Old drill but still great, with a slight twist.
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Allow the athlete to figure out what position they feel strongest in!
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Knee position, hip, torso, whichever feels the best for them and then let them hang out in that position for a bit.
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#kpicrew

With the season right around the corner, it’s ti

With the season right around the corner, it’s time for the yearly reminder to not stop training in-season!
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Here are some guidelines to help you maintain your gains.
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Max strength sticks around for about a month so don’t worry about trying to PR every week like you did in the off season.
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Lower your reps, increase the weight, and decrease the amount of eccentric work you do. Eccentric is the part where you lower the weight, the part of the squat when you go down. Eccentric work increases soreness.
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1-2x a week working on maintaining your cardiovascular fitness is enough to maintain your gains, yes cardio is important for all athletes. We prefer sprint work or light circuit work in the weight room over long slow distance runs.
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Stick with your routine, don’t fall in line with what the rest of your team does in a team warm up. You know what works for you, stick with it but make sure it makes sense for each scenario. Practice vs. games.
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Your goal should be to maintain during season, cause your gains are now sport specific gains, putting your tools to work!
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#kpicrew

Check out this quick practical way to gain more in

Check out this quick practical way to gain more insight on how to use your lower half better on the mound! We have a few very cool case studies coming out soon talking about hip range of motion and how it affects pitchers, specifically their pitch arsenal.
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Also helps give insight as to why you might have two of the most common mechanical flaws identified on the mound.
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#kpicrew

Proud to be @nscaofficial certified! 9 years and c

Proud to be @nscaofficial certified! 9 years and counting!
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Certifications vary in value but this one means something! If you are looking to trust someone with your strength and conditioning needs, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach is something you should look for!
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@kineticperformanceinstitute as a staff strives to continually better ourselves so we can bring the best training to our clients. Certifications are one small way we do that!
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#kpicrew

You know what you should do right now? Ya, you! I’m looking at you!
Go check out a blog post I wrote about strength training!
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http://dubbaseballblog.com/2021/02/16/chasing-numbers-when-strength-should-be-a-tool-not-the-goal/
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#kpicrew

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